Ian's blog Day 6: Towards the Angel of the North

As the storms swept overhead on Thursday evening, we gratefully sat at the Premier Inn, thinking we had missed the worst of the weather. But later on that evening we found out the river which flowed just 20 metres outside the front of Newcastle House was about to burst its banks and push floodwaters thorough the depot. Arrangements were made later on that evening to cancel the official celebrations at Newcastle so they could concentrate on the necessary clean-up operation. We would stick with the plan of visiting the Angel of the North and then head back home afterwards.

The next morning, the storms of the night had blown over and a fresh breeze brought in sunshine and a bright start to the day. Last minute checks and repairs were made before departure.

[caption id="attachment_3426" align="alignleft" width="599"] Gordon Scott helps to repair a puncture on Steven Clark’s bike – the first of three that day![/caption]

 

Leaving Stockton-on-Tees, we commenced the final 38 mile leg of the journey towards the Angel of the North.  Heading past the west of Middlesbrough we pushed north back into the countryside and then left the sun behind as the clouds and the wind pushed a strong southerly wind behind us. Once again we were able to appreciate some great views of the countryside, passing by various fields, hills and landmarks, including the Great Eppleton wind farm.

Here’s a photo I took of the wind farm as we passed by. Although these four turbines generate enough electricity to power over 5000 homes, opinion was divided whether they were a good idea. Fortunately, apart from arguing with Gordon on the directions this was probably all we disagreed on all week.

Pressing onwards we skirted around Durham through the village of Sedgefield, passing by the racecourse and local cricket ground, going through the former constituency of Tony Blair. Then onwards through some smaller villages before regrouping up just a few miles from the Angel of the North.

Together one last time, we caught sight of the famous landmark and urged our bikes towards our final destination (this was the end of a hard week’s cycling). Arriving at the Angel of the North, the clouds broke for us,  we left our bikes around the sculpture, taking advantage of the sunny weather and taking lots of pictures.

After a final thank you from Mark Charlton for putting in a great week’s cycling it was time to make the final arrangements for collecting the bags and our last group photo opportunity.

[caption id="attachment_3429" align="alignleft" width="599"] Pictured from left to right: Martin Beach, Ben Beach, Steven Clark, Paul Reeves, Ian Tallamy, Fred Napier, Brett Hanley, Cayleb Needham, Paul Reeves (in front), Hugh McGill, Mark Charlton, Andy Cook, Gordon Scott, Chris Benger, Ian Evans & Paul Northover.[/caption]

 

I'm not quick sure what happened to Neil Barker’s bike – hopefully he got it back before we all left.

To make it easier to sort out final logistics, we decided to head downhill to Newcastle House to make the arrangements for bags, transport etc. We weren’t expecting anything formal at the house, but it really surprised us and was great to see a number of the house staff coming out to welcome us to Newcastle. Many of those had worked through the night, clearing out the flood waters and getting things back into a serviceable state, and somehow still found time to welcome us and share a hog roast lunch with us too – fantastic guys – many thanks to Ian Rothwell and the rest of the Newcastle team.

And so, with sadness we all went our separate ways.  Without an official count, I know that many thousands of pounds were raised by the cyclists, helped by you the people who have sponsored us, so thank you for all your support. Thank you too to Mark Charlton for organising and ensuring that this year’s bike ride was a great success, and also to Andy Cook and the support team for helping us. That’s it from my blog, hopefully it’s kept you informed about some of the things that have gone on. There are lots of things I could have added , which were probably best left for the individuals themselves to tell you their own tales.  I’ve not doubt lots more stories will start to come out when everyone’s back in work next week …

And thank you, Ian for sending in your guest posts after each day's ride, when everyone else is relaxing and probably having a well deserved beer. The comments left on previous posts show how much your daily updates have been appreciated :)